Giorgio Chiellini believes Daniele De Rossi has all the attributes needed to play in defence for Italy at the World Cup.

The Roma man, though naturally a midfielder, has been trialled as a makeshift centre-half in the build up to the tournament by Cesare Prandelli.

However, Chiellini does not believe De Rossi’s potential inclusion in the Azzurri rearguard would cause offence to some of the specialist defenders in the squad.

“It wouldn’t be a defeat for us defenders because Daniele has trained in that position and he has all the attributes to play it very well,” the Juventus man said at a Press conference.

“Having 23 squad members seems like a lot, but it isn’t. All the Coaches would have chosen someone else.

“Having multi-functional players gives you the possibility to change formation or ways of dealing with the opposition during the match.”

The 29-year-old also answered questions on the condition of club and international teammate Andrea Barzagli, the numerous injuries being suffered by participant World Cup nations and the difficulties of winning an international tournament.

“He is better [Barzagli]. He should have played against Luxembourg but he had a fever. On the field, his tendon seems to be getting better. We hope he can be in the best possible condition next Saturday.

“The strange thing is that they are all really bad injuries, not muscular ones. We were the first to suffer one [Riccardo Montolivo] and I am sorry because missing out on a World Cup is horrible.

“It’s hard to win because there are a lot of teams full of champions and hopes who being the tournament. But only one can win.

“We are also hoping to win something at international level sooner or later.”